TOKYO (Nikkei)--Leading travel agency JTB Corp. predicted Friday that this year's Golden Week vacation period will see a year-on-year rise in people traveling within Japan as well as those going abroad, pointing to signs of a recovery in vacation-related spending.

Travelers heading overseas are expected to surge 10.1% on the year to 500,000. This rise -- the first in three years -- is attributed to the yen's increased strength against major currencies, with South Korea and Australia seen as especially good bargains. Travelers to these countries are up 32.4% and 7.7%, respectively.

JTB sees domestic travelers increasing 2.9% to 21.4 million, rising for the first time in two years, thanks to reduced highway tolls and lower gasoline prices compared with a year earlier. The government's cash stimulus payments are also driving demand, according to JTB